Parkinson’s disease affects 10 million people around the world and is the second most common disease that damages the brain and nerves, right after Alzheimer’s.
Right now, doctors usually diagnose Parkinson’s by looking at symptoms, but often only after the disease has already done a lot of damage.
Scientists at Duke Health have now developed a blood test that could diagnose Parkinson’s disease much earlier.
This is big news because an early diagnosis could mean earlier treatment, possibly slowing down the disease’s effects.
How Does the Test Work?
The new blood test looks at DNA damage in a specific part of the cell called the mitochondria. Think of mitochondria as little energy-making factories inside cells.
They have their own set of DNA, separate from the DNA in the main part of the cell.
Researchers, led by Laurie Sanders, noticed that people with Parkinson’s have more damage in the DNA of their mitochondria. So, they created a test that can spot this kind of DNA damage in blood cells.
Before, the team had found more mitochondrial DNA damage in brain tissue of people who had died from Parkinson’s.
In the new study, they used a method, kind of like a specialized scan for DNA, to check the levels of this damage in blood samples.
They found that the test was able to identify people with Parkinson’s disease, even those who had a certain genetic risk factor, known as LRRK2, that makes them more likely to get the disease.
Not Just a Diagnostic Tool, But a Guide for Treatment
What’s even more exciting is that this blood test isn’t just good for diagnosing Parkinson’s—it could also help in treating it.
The test was able to identify lower levels of mitochondrial DNA damage in cells that had been treated with a medicine targeting the effects of the LRRK2 genetic mutation.
This means the test could be used to figure out which patients could benefit from specific treatments.
“The goal is not just to diagnose Parkinson’s disease but also to find medicines that can reverse or stop the damage. Right now, we’re just treating the symptoms, but this could change that,” said Laurie Sanders.
What Comes Next?
The researchers are optimistic but cautious. They plan to test the new blood test on people who are in the earliest stages of Parkinson’s, even before symptoms show up.
This could be a big step in not only treating but also slowing down or even stopping the disease before it takes a major toll on people’s lives.
So, while it’s still early days for this test, the potential impact is huge. It could change how we diagnose and treat one of the most common and devastating brain diseases, giving hope to millions of people around the world.
If you care about brain health, please read studies that bad lifestyle habits can cause Alzheimer’s disease, and this new drug may help treat Alzheimer’s disease.
For more information about brain health, please see recent studies about a new early sign of Alzheimer’s disease, and results showing this brain problem can increase the risk of stroke for up to five years.
The study was published in Science Translational Medicine.
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